Do You Want to Be Healed? | John 5:1-16

Good morning, Watermark. How are we doing today? Good to see you. If this is your first time with us…maybe the Christmas season has you exploring church and faith…I'm so glad you made it. I hope this place feels like home very quickly to you. We're going to jump into studying the Word of God together.

Before we do, I want to ask you: Do you believe God wants to speak to you today? I hope you believe that. Let's ask him to do that now. Would you pray for yourself and say, "God, would you speak to me this morning?" Then would you pray for the people around you and say, "God, would you speak clearly to them as well?" Then would you pray for me and ask God to speak clearly through me to you?

Lord, I pray that you would shut the doors to the Enemy today. I want to ask that you, God, would give us ears to hear from you, eyes to see you, and hearts to receive all you want us to receive today. We have your Word because you're so generous to us. We have your Spirit who leads and guides us into truth because you've graciously given him to us. So use this time for your glory, I pray. In Jesus' name, amen.

A while back, the outlets in my car I use to charge my phone went out. The fuse burned out. So, what used to be known as the cigarette lighter in the front went out, the cigarette lighter in the back went out, and then the USB port went out as well. Instead of going to the store, buying a new fuse, and putting it in, I just decided to accept the fact that my car was no longer a car that charged my phone.

It introduced all of these complexities to my life, where if I was traveling out of town, I needed to make sure my phone was fully charged. If it wasn't fully charged, then I needed to accommodate that by bringing along a portable cell phone charger. There were even times on a road trip where I would pull out my laptop to plug my phone into my laptop to charge my phone.

You might hear that, and I would imagine… I can even feel the judgment in this room right now. I can just feel it from you guys. It's thick this morning. You're hearing that, and you're like, "That's crazy. You know that you don't have to do that. You can fix it like that. You just go to the store and buy a $5 fuse. You just pull one out, put it in, and you're back in business."

Yeah, well, I decided to manage workarounds to my outlets that were out of power. For over a year, people, I lived like that. You might hear that and be like, "That is crazy, because there is a solution, and that's totally fixable." The reason I tell you that today is because I wonder if that's our story when it comes to lingering sin in our lives that has moved in and made itself at home in 2024.

I don't know what 2024 has looked like for you, but I wonder if, for many of us, there's certain sin that has moved into our lives and made itself at home. You know, we're right here in the holiday season. Do you know what the holidays do? They bring joy into our lives, but they also surface the things that are broken in our lives due to sin.

If you were to look at some of the things that are popping up right now or if you were to survey 2024… Some of you are like, "I don't want to do that right now. That's what January 1, 2025, is for. New year, new you." But if you were to look back, you might say, "Yes, some sin has moved in and made itself at home." Here's the reality: there is a solution, and it is fixable.

This morning, as we continue our series A Gospel-Saturated Church, I want to be very clear to everyone here that Jesus Christ and his gospel can fix what is broken in our lives due to sin. Jesus is in the business of breaking the power of sin in our lives and leading us to freedom. It is so important that we, as Christians, understand that, yes, Jesus Christ did come to deliver us from the penalty of sin, which is hell, but that's not the only reason he came.

He came to deliver us from the power of sin now, and we, as Christians, have hope that a day is coming where he will deliver us from the presence of sin forevermore, which is amazing news. But we have to be clear that Jesus Christ wants to break the power of sin in our lives today. There is a solution. It is fixable, and Jesus Christ is where healing is found.

So, today, I want to invite you to turn with me to John, chapter 5, and I want to show you a story that shows Jesus Christ to be healer. As you're turning there, I just want to make sure we are all on the same page today, so please don't miss what I'm telling you right now. What we are going to see Jesus do physically is what we are asking Jesus to do spiritually in our lives.

Now, can Jesus Christ still heal us physically? Absolutely. If you're here today and there's something physical going on in your life, we'd love to pray for you after the service, but what we're talking about right now is what Jesus does for this man physically he can do for us spiritually.

When we talk about being healed this morning, I'm talking specifically about Jesus Christ doing a powerful work in our lives to move us toward freedom from sin that is straining our intimacy with God, hurting our relationships with one another, and flat-out stealing our joy. I'm talking about taking a step of faith to trust Jesus to satisfy us in ways that sin can't, and I'm talking about the power of Christ's victory over sin on the cross practically manifesting itself in our day-to-day lives over the temptations of this world.

So, please hear what I'm telling you. The goal of this message isn't to just get something from Jesus; the goal of this message is to get more of Jesus. It is intimacy with Jesus by knowing him as healer. If you're going to be a mature follower of Jesus Christ, you will need to know Jesus as healer. As we journey through the text, I'm going to invite you to answer four different questions.

1. What needs to be healed in your life? Look with me at the text. Let me read you verses 1-3. It sets the scene for us. "After this there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, in Aramaic called Bethesda, which has five roofed colonnades. In these lay a multitude of invalids—blind, lame, and paralyzed." So that's the setting. Jesus is in Jerusalem. He goes to the Pool of Bethesda. If you've ever been on a tour of the Holy Land, you most likely went to the Pool of Bethesda.

John is very clear with us what's happening at this pool. He says there is a gathering. It's a multitude, which implies that there are a lot of people. It is a multitude of invalids. That's a general term that refers to people who are weak, sick, or powerless. Then John gives us even more clarity to what's going on here. It's a multitude of people that includes people who are blind, lame, and paralyzed.

Now, the people are there because they believe healing is possible. There was this superstition around the waters that, periodically, an angel would come and stir up the waters and the first person in the waters would be healed. So, get what's happening here. This is a group of people who have gathered together because something in their lives isn't working as it should. Their eyes aren't working as they should. Their legs aren't working as they should, and they are coming there because they are clear that they are in need of healing.

My question is…Is Watermark Community Church a lot like the Pool of Bethesda? Is this right now a gathering of people who have things in their lives that are not working as they should? I'll say it a different way. Something is broken and in need of healing. Some of y'all hear that, and you're already offended. You're like, "This is the problem with Christianity. You go around telling people they're broken. How offensive is that. I'm not broken. I don't feel broken. I'm actually crushing life right now." Let me speak to that really quickly.

Here's the reality: we can't experience healing unless we first admit that something is broken. See, the people at the Pool of Bethesda were there because they realized something needed to be healed. Let me just ask you. If it doesn't take much to get you angry… You even wake up angry sometimes for no reason, and when you are angry, you're explosive or hurtful in the way you think, talk, or act. You may be manipulative, condescending, passive-aggressive, and at times even out of control. Can't we agree that something needs healing?

If you want to try to control… Like, if you have a need to control everyone and everything, and something in you believes that's a blessing to people for you to control them, but in your marriage, in your work, it's your way or no way, can't we agree that something isn't working as it should? Something is in need of healing.

If the way you deal with the stress and demands of life or the hurt you're experiencing or the way you deal with just plain boredom is to drink a little too much, spend too much, eat too much, eat too little, look at pornography, flirt with someone who isn't your spouse to feel alive, or to blow your money on sports betting, can't we agree that something needs healing?

If you're a workaholic… You are always on with work. You neglect your family and friends for work, and you polish it up, like, "Well, this is what I'm doing to provide." You are providing, but you're actually hiding behind that, because something in you is more excited about work than them. Can't we agree that something needs healing?

If your marriage is drifting apart and you don't care or if your marriage is strained because you consistently put yourself first…it's what you want, it's your preferences, it's what you need…can't we agree that something needs healing? If the majority of your decisions are driven by whether or not someone else will notice you, approve of you, or like you, can't we agree that you auditioning every day, all day, for other people's approval is in need of some healing?

If you regularly lie, or maybe not lie but just exaggerate, tell half-truths about who you are or what you've done, what you have, just to make yourself look better than you actually are, can't we agree that something needs healing? Maybe some of you, as I'm talking about things being broken in your life, are like, "Yeah, something is broken in my life because someone did this to me."

Maybe someone has wronged you. I don't want to minimize that at all. What has happened is their brokenness has spilled over into your life, and that's a tragedy. That's horrific. The thing you need to do is ask yourself if, in your response to how they've wronged you, the way you're responding is leading to more brokenness in your life.

Over the years, God has revealed several areas of brokenness in my life that are in need of healing, whether it was insecurities and lusts that manifested themselves in looking at pornography during my years in college or bitterness that I allowed to move in and make itself at home when I felt wronged by someone or just a need for people's approval. Those are just a few ways God has revealed brokenness in my life that has been in need of healing.

What I realized was healing couldn't begin until I was willing to acknowledge that something was, in fact, broken. That's why the question is…What needs healing? What in your life is in need of healing? Now, look back at the text. I want you to look at verse 5 with me, because what Jesus is going to do is he's going to focus on one person, which says so much about Jesus. I hope you don't miss this.

There's a multitude of people, and they're all there because they need healing, and what does Jesus do? He engages in a very personal way with one person. I hope for you that's an encouragement, that you're here amidst thousands of people, yet many people here are going to walk out today saying, "That talk was just for me." It's going to feel like a rifle shot to your heart, and that's because Jesus is that great. In the midst of the multitudes, he sees you, loves you, and moves toward you personally.

Verse 5: "One man was there who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years." That's important. John includes that detail for a reason. John is telling this story because he wants us to view Jesus as healer. He's like, "Okay. There's an invalid there who has had a need for healing for 38 years." That's longer than some of you guys have even been alive, and that's how long he has needed healing. John wants us to feel the weight of the pain this person has experienced.

What that detail does is it allows us to gain some perspective. If you want to gain some perspective and even feel a little bit crazy, just ask yourself how long something has been broken in your life and in need of healing. Just think about that for a second. How long have you been looking at porn? How long have you been chasing people's approval? How long have you been a workaholic? How long?

I think back in my life. There was someone I felt really wronged by, and what happened was I allowed bitterness to move in and make itself at home in my life. Do you know what bitterness does? It grows like a weed and chokes out anything healthy in your soul. That bitterness literally controlled me, and it impacted every area of my life. I became the drama friend. When I was with my friends, I was talking about my hurt. I was talking about my bitterness.

When I heard this individual's name, I had a physical response to them. If I heard about their struggles, something in me celebrated that. When I heard about their successes, something in me was bothered by that. God in his kindness eventually just said, "Look. I love you enough to deal with this going on in your heart. You need healing." He has actually restored that relationship in a beautiful way.

I look back, and I feel a little bit crazy that for four years my life was controlled by that bitterness. How long has it been for you? See, when we allow something broken in our lives to stay broken for an extended period of time, we get used to it. It's like those outlets in my car that were out. We just accept that's the way it is.

We begin to tell ourselves, "This is just who I am. I'm a critical person, but that's what makes me great. I see the cracks in things." "I'm just an angry person. No, it's not that I'm angry. I just feel strongly. That's just who I am." "Yeah, I chase people's approval, but who doesn't?" We begin to believe this is just who we are. Jesus interrupts this man's life with a question, and we're going to let Jesus' question be our second question.

2. Do you want to be healed? Look at verse 6. "When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had already been there a long time, he said to him, 'Do you want to be healed?'" What a crazy question. Can you imagine? Everyone there is there because they want to be healed. This guy is there because he believes the waters can heal, and Jesus walks up and is like, "Hey, man…38 years. Do you want to be healed?" What's he going to say? "Nope. Go talk to that guy." No. It seems like a crazy question, but it's actually a very, very important question.

Do you actually want to be healed? I think we hear that question, and we're like, "Of course. Of course. If something is broken, I want to be healed." But here's what we have to remember. If Jesus goes to work and starts tinkering with things, then he might actually uproot that sin from your life, and sin can be really enjoyable. Jesus might actually ask you to make some tough decisions in your life to deal with that sin.

I'll illustrate it this way. I was a student pastor for five and a half years, and then I was in college ministry for nine and a half years. Over the course of all that time, I counseled a lot of students in regard to dating relationships. There were different times where I'd be talking to someone who was very clearly in an unhealthy dating relationship. Like, the relationship was full of drama and insecurity. One was possibly cheating on the other. It was very dysfunctional.

So my counsel would be, "Hey, you know what? I think it's time to get out of the relationship." This happened multiple times where they didn't take my advice, and their exact response was this. Some of you have said these words. Some of y'all are saying these words right now. "I just can't imagine my life without her in it." "I just can't imagine my life without him in it."

Do you know what they were saying? They were saying, "Look. This relationship might be stealing from me, but it's also giving me something. I acknowledge it might be hurting me, it might be stealing from me, but I am afraid to give up what it is giving to me." Now, let's be clear. This is not a dating talk. I'm not giving this illustration to just talk about dating relationships. I'm trying to expose what might be happening in some of our relationships with sin.

If we're honest, we can't imagine our lives without that sin in it. Like, "If I give up those few glasses of wine each night, how will I be able to unwind from a stressful day? If I give up porn, am I always going to be sexually frustrated? If I forgive, if I release my bitterness, doesn't that communicate that he or she won?" It might be that you can't imagine your life without that sin in it.

The other thing is you might have to make some tough decisions in order for Jesus to accomplish his healing work in your life. Ultimately, healing requires trust that Jesus can satisfy you in ways someone or something can't. I think about what John says in chapter 3, verse 19. This is Christmas in a verse. He says, "And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil."

Sin is loving the darkness, yet the darkness hasn't loved you back. The darkness has actually hated you. Healing is trusting that Jesus' love is what you need more. So, the question is…Would you be willing, if Jesus asked you, to give up some things that hate you in order to receive more of his love? Would you be willing to make some tough decisions?

I told y'all not too long ago that when I would talk to younger men about their struggles with pornography and I would share from my story, it was so clear so quickly that what they were wanting was an "easy" button for their sin. I would start telling them about some of the defining decisions they might need to make, and they would lose eye contact, they would lose focus, because it was no longer easy.

I think about re:generation, our Christ-centered recovery ministry, which meets on Monday nights. For some of you, the best thing you can do is to be in this room tomorrow night at 6:30, but some of y'all might be like, "Isn't that a 12- to 14-month commitment? Who has time for that? Isn't re:generation just for the people who are really messed up?" See, we want the "easy" button for our sin.

So, Jesus' question is actually a valid question. "Do you really want to be healed?" The reality is you might be sad about the consequences of your sin, but you're not sad over your sin. If you were honest with God today (and the only way to operate is to be honest), your answer might be "No" or "Not yet."

3. How do you think you will be healed? What needs to happen in order for you to be healed? Watch how the man responds to Jesus' question. So, Jesus asks, "Do you want to be healed?" Verse 7: "The sick man answered him, 'Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, and while I am going another steps down before me.'"

So, what's his answer? "Do you want to be healed?" He gives a response that I think is both right and wrong at the same time. I think his response is wrong because he believes healing can come from some other source besides Jesus. Remember, there's a superstition around these waters. The first in is the one who gets healed. This guy believes healing can happen outside of Jesus Christ.

But when we talk about healing today, we're talking about healing from the brokenness in our lives due to sin. Let's just be clear. If we're talking about sin, Jesus is the only one who has gone to battle with sin and conquered it thoroughly. Jesus is the only one who lived perfectly, died sacrificially, and rose victoriously, and he did it so you and I can experience the joy of the freedom that has been purchased by him through his sacrifice.

If we're talking about sin, Jesus has to be the solution. The reason I say that is some of y'all are going to be like, "No, no, no. I have my sin under control." I want to be clear. We're not talking about managing sin; we're talking about healing from sin. A lot of people can manage their sin. Some of you type-A people, you super-disciplined people, can just discipline yourself to manage your sin, but we're not talking about managing your sin; we're talking about experiencing healing from your sin.

You can manage your anger so it doesn't show, so you don't blow up at people, so you don't lash out, but inwardly, you're super bitter. Jesus would say, "Uh, that's a problem." You can manage your lust so you don't go out and sleep with other people or look at porn, but Jesus says if you look at someone lustfully, you've committed adultery in your heart. That's a problem.

We're not talking about managing sin; we're talking about Jesus Christ doing something transformative in your life that impacts the heart, where your heart is changed in such a way that your desires are changed and your thought patterns are changed. You don't become a perfect person, and I'm not saying you never struggle anymore. I'm just saying that you experience change to where you're not just muscling forward or restraining yourself, but Christ is changing you so that you want to live a life that is pleasing to him. Jesus is the solution.

Here's Christmas in another verse. First John 3:8: "The reason the Son of God appeared…" This is why Jesus showed up in a manger. "The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil." Amen? That's why he came. He came to destroy the works of the Devil, and he wants to do that in our lives.

So, that's why I think this man's response was wrong: he believed healing could happen some other way besides Jesus. The reason I think his response is right in some ways is he believes he will need the help of others to experience healing. He says, "I don't have anyone to help me into the waters." That's a biblical idea.

I think about James 5:16, which says, "Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed." God often uses his people to bring healing into the lives of his people. So, let me encourage you. This might be the week where you finally go a little bit deeper in your Community Group. This might be the week where you finally open up to one or two people that you can be fully known and fully loved.

This might be the week that you finally show up to re:generation. You've heard me mention re:gen twice now. Some of you are like, "Okay, fine. January 1, 2025, I'm going to be there." Let me just say back to you what you're saying to me. You want to enjoy your brokenness for just two more weeks. If that's where you're at, let me point you back to the second question. Do you want to be healed?

Healing is available today. You don't go to re:gen and it starts this 12-month countdown until you then begin to experience healing. No. Healing begins the day you're willing to admit and say, "Look. I'm powerless. I'm in need of help. I'm in need of healing." That right there is the beginning of healing, and there's joy all along the journey.

Look at how Jesus responds to the man. "Jesus said to him…" Now, you can't just read this in the black-and-white letters. You have to put yourself there. Imagine you are at the pool. There are people all around who have something that needs to be healed, yet Jesus is so loving that he is investing one-on-one time with this man. For 38 years, he hasn't walked. Jesus looks at him and is like, "Get up."

"What?"

"Get up. Stand up. Do something you haven't done in 38 years. I just want you to get up. I want you to get up, I want you to take your bed, and I want you to walk."

"And at once…" The guy wasn't like, "Well, I don't know, Jesus. I've tried that before, and I don't know if I want to do that." No. "And at once the man was healed, and he took up his bed and walked." I mean, that's crazy, but this is what happens when Jesus intersects with brokenness. Transformation comes.

I just need you to think about this man experiencing sensation in his toes that permeates his entire foot, and then it begins to move up his legs. He feels power he has never felt before, and he stands up. Can you imagine the vantage point going from there to here? He's like, "This is different. This is what it's like from here." Everything begins to change. The way he moved changed. The way he saw the world changed. His routine would be forever changed because he had no more need to be at the pool. Everything changed because of the healing power of Jesus.

Jesus is the healer. I can stand up here today and say I personally know the healing power of Jesus Christ over a seven-year massive struggle with pornography. I know the healing power of Jesus over four years of bitterness toward someone I felt wronged by. I have watched Jesus change life after life. I've seen Jesus heal people from addictions to alcohol or drugs.

I've seen Jesus take marriages that were dumpster fires and make them new. I have seen Jesus change people. People who, at their core, were self-centered and selfish in such a way that it impacted everyone around them, he has transformed into selfless servants. This is what Jesus does. He's in the business of healing that which is broken. Do you want to be healed?

4. What's the goal of being healed? This is important. What's the goal? Why are we even talking about this today? What's the goal of being healed? Look with me at verses 9-16. I'm going to read you a chunk of text.

"Now that day was the Sabbath. So the Jews said to the man who had been healed, 'It is the Sabbath, and it is not lawful for you to take up your bed.' But he answered them, 'The man who healed me, that man said to me, "Take up your bed, and walk."' They asked him, 'Who is the man who said to you, "Take up your bed and walk"?'

Now the man who had been healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had withdrawn, as there was a crowd in the place. Afterward Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, 'See, you are well! Sin no more, that nothing worse may happen to you.' The man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had healed him. And this was why the Jews were persecuting Jesus, because he was doing these things on the Sabbath."

Here's what I want you to see. There was a disconnect for the guy who had been healed. There are a few clues that there was a disconnect in his life. First, he didn't know Jesus' name. The Jews are like, "Who told you to pick up your mat?" and he's like, "I don't know." Here's a rule of thumb. If someone heals you on the spot, you should ask their name. You should be like, "You just healed me. What's your name again? Jesus? Jesus, thank you for healing me." That's just a small… You should know their name.

The second thing that shows a disconnect is when he hears that it's Jesus, he goes to the Jews and is like, "I figured it out. It's Jesus." Then what does the text say? It says this was why the Jews began to persecute Jesus. This is so different than other accounts we see, like in John, chapter 9, or Mark, chapter 5. When Jesus heals the possessed man in Mark, chapter 5, the guy wants to be with Jesus. He wants to travel with Jesus. He doesn't want to let Jesus go.

Here's a guy who's like, "Yeah, I didn't even catch his name, but it's pretty great that I'm healed. Oh, it's Jesus? Okay. Let me go tell the guys it's Jesus." Do you know what we see? He wanted the healing, but he didn't want the healer, which is really interesting. He was content having the healing without the healer.

This is why I want to clarify for you what the end goal of healing is. Is the goal that there would be no more brokenness in your life? Is the goal so you wouldn't feel like a failure as much? Is the goal so you would feel more qualified to serve? Is the goal that you would feel like you're crushing life more? Like, your brokenness right now is kind of keeping you back from some of the things you're trying to accomplish in life and at work, so you just need to get rid of this so you can crush life more.

Is the goal so you can get married or have a better marriage? Is the goal to be liked better by someone or to earn someone's trust? You know what? A lot of these things aren't bad reasons; they're just not the ultimate reason. Jesus isn't a means to an end; he is the end. The goal of healing is to know the healer. Healing is knowing the healer. To experience healing is to experience intimacy with the healer.

The goal of being healed is to experience Jesus. It's to be satisfied in Jesus in a way that your sin cannot satisfy. It's to see Jesus, to get Jesus, to be with Jesus, to love Jesus, to be loved by Jesus. It's Jesus. That's the goal. This was my experience in my own story. When I think back to the time in my life when I experienced the most brokenness, the time in my life that I would point to, which was a rock-bottom moment in my life…

I left the country to get away from life and begin to process things. Do you know what my goal for doing that was? I just wanted to get better quickly. I just wanted to get back to a place where I was more respectable. I wanted to get back to a place where I was more qualified for ministry. I wanted to get to a place where I was more marriable.

Then, as I got away, I began to meet with Jesus. Each day, I just began to sit with Jesus. I began to read his Word, and he began to speak to me. I would just journal my heart out to him. Over time, Jesus was healing me by just giving me more of himself. The more I saw Jesus, the closer I felt to Jesus, the more whole I felt inside because of Jesus. I came home having gotten Jesus.

So, the goal no longer was to just be qualified for ministry. The goal no longer was just to be more marriable or more respectable. The goal was Jesus. It's to be with the healer. It's to know the healer. Why did Jesus heal people physically? Because he does heal people physically, but he also healed this person physically to show us what he's able to do spiritually.

If you're here this morning, and you don't have a relationship with Jesus Christ, would you allow me to speak very, very clearly to you? Here is the great news for you today. As you sit here in a room full of a multitude of people, Jesus Christ sees you, and he loves you. Just like this man, he moves closely to you. That's what he's doing this morning. He's pursuing you. He's coming to you. The best thing you can realize is you're not just paralyzed in sin; you're dead in your sin. We all are apart from Jesus.

Just like this guy was by the Pool of Bethesda because he knew he couldn't heal himself, the best thing you can do is realize there's brokenness in your life because your relationship with God is broken, and you can't heal a broken relationship with God. You can't jump high enough, you can't run fast enough, and you can't live good enough to heal your relationship with God, and that's okay, because God, in the person of Jesus, has come to make what you couldn't make.

He came to make you and your relationship with God new. He wants you. He loves you. He lived perfectly for you. He died sacrificially for you. He rose victoriously for you. If you would turn from your sin and receive Jesus Christ today, you can experience complete forgiveness of sin. Your relationship with God can be healed today.

But I think about what Jesus said to that man when he found him later. He said, "See, you are well! Sin no more, that nothing worse may happen to you." The greatest consequence of our sin is an eternally broken relationship with God, eternity apart from God in hell. Jesus wants to heal your relationship with God. Would you allow him to?

Then, for everyone in the room, I just want to take you back to those outlets in my car. I managed workarounds for over a year, and then, finally, one day I was like, "Okay. Today is the day." I went to the auto parts store, bought the $5 fuse, pulled out the old fuse, put the new fuse in, and you know what I had? I had power.

Do you know what the thought is? "Why did I wait so long? Why did I go over a year when there was a solution? It was fixable." Don't let that be your story. Don't just keep waiting until one day you wake up and say, "Why did I wait so long?" There's a solution. It's fixable. So, let me encourage you. Enough with the excuses. Don't wait until the new year. Enough waiting. If you don't know Jesus Christ in a personal way, let today be the day you turn to him.

The Scriptures are clear. All who call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. If you're realizing today that something is broken in your life, would you acknowledge it to the Lord? Would you go to him and say, "Lord Jesus, this is broken in my life, and I want to invite you to heal"? Maybe you're here this morning, and this message has been discouraging for you, because you're sitting there saying, "I've tried. It hasn't been for lack of effort. I've tried to fight back, and I just keep failing."

Let me encourage you to experience hope today. Would you just see your sin as God sees it? Would you allow yourself to see what God sees, that Jesus Christ has conquered your sin? He has conquered it. So there is a way even when it feels like there's no way. There is power in the name of Jesus. If you need to talk to someone afterward and have someone pray over you, we'd love to help you with that.

Maybe you need to text a friend right now. Maybe you need to make a commitment to share with your community this week or to be at re:generation tomorrow night. Let's take a step. Let's take a step together. This Christmas, we celebrate the healer coming. Here's the question: Do you want to be healed? Let's pray together.

I just want to give you a moment before we jump to singing. Sometimes we're so programmed that when I say, "Let's pray," it's like that's the end. It's like, "Okay. Let's prepare to leave." I, instead, want to ask you right now to respond to God. What does Jesus want to do in your life right now? What does he want to talk to you about right now? Would you take a moment and do business with him? Whether it's confessing to him, inviting his healing work into your life, putting your trust in him, or whatever it is, do business with him now, and then we'll respond in singing in just a moment.